PREMIERE

GORGEOUS CONTESTANTS ARE SECRETLY SCRUTINIZED AS THEY COMPETE, ON THE PREMIERE OF ABC'S "TRUE BEAUTY"

Vanessa Minnillo Hosts / Cheryl Tiegs and Nole Marin Are Judges

"Episode 101" -- "True Beauty"-featured contestants include six gorgeous young women and four hot young men, premiering MONDAY, JANUARY 5 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

The women are: Ashley Michaelson, a 21-year-old designer's assistant from Rochester, New York; Monique Santiago, a 21-year-old Go-Go dancer from Manhattan, New York; Julia Anderson, a 23-year-old magician's assistant from Dallas, Texas; Laura Leigh, a 21-year-old model from Staten Island, New York; Chelsea Bush, a 21-year old model/artist from Brentwood, Tennessee; and Hadiyyah-lah Fatimah Sa'id, a 23-year-old audio engineer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The men are: CJ Miller, a 26-year-old barista from Los Angeles, California; Billy Jeffrey, a 31-year-old vitamin store owner from Lewiston, Idaho; Joel Rush, a 26-year-old imaging software salesman from Tampa, Florida; and Ray Seitz, a 29-year-old artist from San Diego, California.

Hosted and judged by Vanessa Minnillo (former host of "TRL" and "ET"), along with judges Cheryl Tiegs (America's first supermodel, currently designer and author) and Nole Marin ("America's Next Top Model" and fashion expert for E!, TV Guide, "The Tyra Banks Show"), the series will determine the "True Beauty" of six stunning females and four handsome males who will live together in a Los Angeles mansion as they undergo challenges to determine who is truly the most beautiful. The gorgeous contestants assume they're being judged solely on their outer appearance. They're only half right; outer beauty is one component the judges are looking for, but contestants are also being evaluated -- unbeknownst to them -- for their INNER beauty as well when they're put through scenarios and situations that require them to make moral decisions.

Each episode will showcase an outer beauty and an inner beauty challenge, during which contestants will be judged on everything from how well they perform in photo shoots to how well they respect their elders. The three judges will observe and critique the contestants' behavior and eliminate one person each week. Only after the elimination will the truth about the show be revealed to him/her, as they watch a video montage of their behavior captured by a hidden camera during the shoot. At the end of eight episodes, one winner will be declared, a person who is truly beautiful inside and out. That person will receive a cash prize and a spot in PEOPLE magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People issue.

Executive producers of "True Beauty" are Denise Cramsey (ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"), Tyra Banks and Laura Armstrong for Bankable Productions, and Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg, Karey Burke, and Rod Aissa for Katalyst Productions. The series is a production of Warner Horizon Television. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.